Cal Thomas, Neal Boortz, Herman Cain, Mary Matalin,
Michael Steele, G. Gordon Liddy, Pat Sajak, Ward Connerly
and "Osama bin Laden" highlighted the presentations and
acceptances of the MRC’s "2007 DisHonors Awards: Roasting
the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporters of 2006" --
the showcase of the MRC's 20th Anniversary Gala -- presented
on Thursday night, March 29, before an audience of more than
1,000 packed into the Independence Ballroom of the Grand
Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C.
Following the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos
in five categories (see links to videos below), a look at
some "funny clips" from 2006, a highlight reel of past galas
and the audience picking the "Quote of the Year," the
evening was topped off with Rush Limbaugh accepting the
MRC's first annual "William F. Buckley Award for Media
Excellence."
DisHonors Awards winners were selected by a distinguished
panel of 13 leading media observers, including Limbaugh,
Tony Blankley, Ann Coulter, Steve Forbes, Mark Levin, Robert
Novak, Walter E. Williams and Thomas S. Winter, who served
as judges.
Cal Thomas, a syndicated columnist and panelist on FNC's Fox
News Watch, served as Master of Ceremonies and explained how
illness prevented scheduled presenters Sean Hannity and Ann
Coulter from attending. Syndicated radio talk show host Neal
Boortz presented the first two awards, followed by business
leader Herman Cain who set up the funny clips and presented
the third award. Mary Matalin, a former adviser to President
Bush and Vice President Cheney, handled the fourth and fifth
awards.
In place of the journalist who won each award, a
conservative accepted it in jest. Those standing in for the
winners: Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele,
radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy, game show host Pat
Sajak and Ward Connerly, President of the American Civil
Rights Institute. Plus, "Osama bin Laden" accepted an award
via video from a cave in Pakistan.
The evening began with welcoming remarks from Cal Thomas, an
invocation by Father John Hopkins and the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Rear Admiral James J. Carey (Retired).
Between the fifth award and the "Quote of the Year"
competition, Cain and Dick Eckburg, the Chairman of the MRC
Board Trustees, honored MRC President L. Brent Bozell with a
Steven Penley painting of Bozell and conservative opinion
leaders integral in the MRC's 20-year history. |